This is a Trip Report from the Upper Class cabin
Ground Staff
Food & Drink
Entertainment
Seat
Cabin Crew
Security was a breeze and the fast-track worked well and I was then heading into the lift to the CH. I was welcomed so warmly and what a grand entrance it has compared to the bland BA offer next door....
Found a seat at the bar and ordered a Hendricks and tonic which was delicious quickly followed by another.
The CH is much smaller than the JFK offer but I did like it, the staff were really friendly just as they are at JFK. The CH is used by Air India and Jet Airways so until 4pm a dedicated lunchtime offer is available with largely Indian options for the Air India passengers who all leave by 4pm and then from 4pm a good mixture of Western and Indian options for the VS and 9W passengers including the CH burger which I enjoyed, along with some dim sum.
Dessert came later and I enjoyed a Black Forest trifle and some salted caramel ice-cream.
All too soon it was time to leave and the first boarding call came at 1830
Boarding was a little chaotic but "Mademoiselle Rouge" looked good at the gate.
Welcomed warmly at the door and directed to my seat. At Newark as regulars will know boarding is done through L1 so it's best to wait until all Y and W passengers have boarded because if not, you find you are sat in a thoroughfare!!!
This being the A330 and with a full cabin, it does feel cramped as we know....but the seat I find ok overall but the lack of storage space does cause an issue or two.
Anyway a glass of champagne was offered and accepted, followed by sleep suits, newspapers and an amenity kit. The menu was already on the ottoman. A refill of champagne was offered and accepted.
The FSM was not giving the most friendly of feelings as she barked up and down the UC cabin......a taster of things to come????
Pushback came on-time and with a full fight we were promised a flight time of 6hrs25mins, the FSM felt the need to keep reminding us this was an overnight flight!!
Once airborne a few minutes later we had fabulous views of Manhattan just as the sun was setting as hot towels were offered.
Drink orders were quickly taken as bottles of water were handed out and these arrived with small bowls of crisps, followed a little later by the offer of a refill of both.
My IFE was not working and after a personal reset, it still was not working. A few others were also having the same problems. So I was offered a DVD player, as no tablets had been loaded!!!!
The CSS came along and apologised and offered 8000 miles which appeared on my account the next day. Nothing at all from the FSM who spent most of the flight sat by L2 doing paperwork, even when I was sat at the bar, she didn't join in the conversation.
She certainly didn't promote the right image and didn't play any part in the service at all. She came across as lazy and such a shame after several good flights where FSMs have led by example.
It must be said the CSS and the rest of the team in UC were fabulous
Supper service began with the tables getting laid about 1hr30mins into the flight which seems too long on these shorter flights. But as a supper flight, only a main course, dessert and cheese but most of the flight were not eating, only six people had supper and I only had the main course of beef which was actually very good. I rounded things off with a hot chocolate and some chocolate.
With no entertainment I decided to sleep and managed a couple of hours. Over the Atlantic whilst awake a bang was heard and all the lights and IFE screens went down (well for those that had them on....) and the FSM came running through UC to the flight-deck.
Something felt wrong as the crew all met in the forward galley for some kind of briefing, thankfully, only a power surge and moments later everything kicked back in including my IFE which was now working fully....
Breakfast service commenced at 0530 and again only a few took up the offer of it. I had my sights set on revivals. With the cabin secure, the CSS came along to say cherrio and hot towels were once again offered.
Touch down came at 0709 after one lap in the hold and we were quickly at the gate. The UK border was a mess with large queues and long delays, in the end it took me over 30mins to get through which wasn't too bad I guess and my case was waiting for me on the belt.
Revivals was really quiet but welcomed warmly and enjoyed a delicious breakfast and a refreshing shower. Just what I needed.
Overall, not one of my best flights, a really poor FSM but a fantastic rest of the team, not to have entertainment for a few hours was disappointing but nothing that anyone could do anything about and though tempted to score low, that would be unfair as it didn't cause me too many issues, as it was a night-time flight ( would have been a different ball-game on a daytime flight) and a DVD was offered which I didnt use and Vera Touch is usually reliable and excellent. It then went onto to work for the last couple of hours too..
Thanks for reading.
Jon
Last edited by horburyflyer on 30 Aug 2014, 22:03, edited 6 times in total.
